1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for diagnosing an abnormal fatty acid (or abnormal lipid) biochemistry or metabolism, by analyzing substances contained in body tissues, and processing the quantities of each substance to compare them with similar quantities obtained from healthy and diseased subjects, and thus produce a diagnosis which may be used to modify the chemical composition of a test subject.
2. Major Nutrients
The major nutrients, i.e., foods that people eat, are fats (lipids), carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water and fiber. The three major types of fatty acids, key components of fat, which are critical for animal health, are: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Other types include: isomers, trans, and branch fatty acids. In contrast to vitamins and minerals, where one can easily obtain the required amounts by taking a few pills (and the body usually destroys or excretes the excess), fatty acids are macronutrients: eating too much leads to overweight; eating too little leads to deficiencies; eating the wrong mixture produces biochemical inbalance and disease. A "substance" is a molecule found in humans, usually a nutrient or a component of a nutrient, or something formed from a nutrient. Carbohydrates, glucose (components of carbohydrates), fats, fatty acids, phospholipids, and fatty acids in phospholipids are examples of substances.